Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1/25/2026

Privacy-First Design

VIN Scanner is built with privacy as a core principle. Your data stays on your device, and we process everything locally whenever possible.

How We Process Your Data

Local Storage Only

All scanned VINs and vehicle information are stored exclusively in your browser's local storage. This data never leaves your device and remains completely private. You can clear this data at any time through your browser settings.

Local Image Processing

When you scan a VIN using your camera, all image processing and optical character recognition (OCR) happens directly in your browser using TesseractJS. Images are never uploaded to any server and are discarded immediately after processing.

VIN Decoding API

The only external communication happens when we decode VINs to retrieve vehicle information. We use the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) public API, which is a free U.S. government service.

When decoding a VIN, we send only the 17-character VIN number to NHTSA's API. No images, personal information, or other data is transmitted. The NHTSA API is subject to their own privacy policy.

Data We Don't Collect

  • ✓We do not collect any personal information
  • ✓We do not track your location
  • ✓We do not use analytics or tracking cookies
  • ✓We do not store camera images
  • ✓We do not maintain user accounts or profiles
  • ✓We do not share any data with third parties (except the public NHTSA API for VIN decoding)

Your Control

You have complete control over your data:

  • •Delete scan history: You can clear your scan history at any time from the History page
  • •Clear all data: Clearing your browser's local storage will remove all data stored by VIN Scanner
  • •Camera permissions: You can revoke camera access at any time through your browser or device settings

Third-Party Services

NHTSA VIN Decoder API: We use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public VIN decoding API. When you scan or enter a VIN, we send the VIN to their API to retrieve vehicle information. This is a free government service. Review their privacy practices at nhtsa.gov/privacy-policy

TesseractJS: OCR processing runs entirely in your browser using the open-source TesseractJS library. No data is sent to external servers during OCR processing.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle data, please feel free to contact us at vinscan[at]gmail(dot)com